Stratford East

Let’s be honest, you’re probably booking a ticket to a stage adaptation of The Harder They Come for the songs. Perry Henzell’s seminal 1972 film is the movie that introduced reggae to the world, after all. But Suzan-Lori Parks’s new version of the stage musical – the second to have been staged at Stratford East after a hit 2006 version by Henzell himself – is as much about the grit of the production, impeccably directed by Matthew Xia, as it is the groove of its soundtrack. And yes, of course, Jimmy Cliff’s anthems are as rousing as ever. The soundtrack roars, cracks and prickles in the hands of this killer cast, led by Natey Jones. Big hitters like the aspirational ‘You Can Get It If You Really Want’ and the haunting power ballad ‘Many Rivers to Cross’ are so stirring, members of the audience can’t help but join in, to sing along.  Telling the story of Ivan (Jones) a young man who arrives in Kingston, Jamaica, in 1971, eager to make a name for himself in the music industry, the book by Parks folds in the textures of city life, from the bustle of bars and backstreets to the weight of financial insecurity. Frustrated by his failure to climb to the top, Ivan slides his way into crime, eventually having to go on the run after shooting a police officer. The story lacks the agony that was layered into the film’s fabric. But it is Xia’s ability to paint vivid stage pictures that makes this revival a hit. His production takes us inside cinemas, on bike rides through green fields,...

The 2025 Stratford East panto is, of course, a spin on the old classic Mother Goose: exactly how different a spin is TBC, but certainly it’s promising that this year’s creative team includes musical comedian Vikki Stone, who was a mainstay of the Lyric Hammersmith’s reliably irreverent panto for a fair few years. She teams up with co-writer/director Tonderai Munyevu – who co-created the Lyric’s 2023 Cinderella with her – for Mama Goose, which stars Charlie Cameron as AI Jill, Duane Gooden as Mama Goose, Mya Fox-Scott as BFF (The Bougie Fierce Fairy), Jerome Lincoln as Katy Perry/Ensemble, Ellie Seaton as WTF (The Wholesome Thoughtful Fairy), Grace Venus as the Tax Man/Ensemble, Che Walker as Gary the Goose, and Marcellus Whyte as Jack Goose. Music is by Robert Hyman, who has been doing the honours for the Stratford panto since the Stone Age.